UFC Champion Pulls Out Of UFC 332, Promotion Scrambles To Replace Main Event

The UFC 332 has been thrown into a state of flux. UFC women's flyweight champion Valentina Shevchenko has been forced off the card with an injury. She was set to defend her 125-pound title against top contender Natalia Silva. With the champion out, the card's main event has been all but ruined. However, UFC brass is scrambling to find a replacement to ensure a title fight remains on the card. And they may have found a replacement for Shevchenko. Let's talk MMA.

Valentina Shevchenko vs. Natalia Silva, women's flyweight title

Shevchenko out with an undisclosed injury

Natalia Silva vs. Wang Cong, interim women's flyweight title

None. Dana White said the main event would be announced this week

Wang beat Shevchenko in a 2015 kickboxing bout

The injury report came from Brazilian outlet Ag. Fight , and the UFC has since removed Shevchenko vs. Silva from its website . Neither the promotion nor Shevchenko has commented publicly.

The interim booking traces to a single account on X and remains unannounced. UFC CEO Dana White said after Tuesday's Contender Series that the main event would be named this week.

Wang Cong has been on a roll with four straight wins after suffering the only loss of her MMA career to Gabriella Fernandes in November 2024. Most recently, Wang defeated Tracy Cortez via unanimous decision in July. The win pushed Wang to No. 6 in the flyweight division. Elevating her into a No. 1 contender or interim title fight with Silva makes sense. The other contenders ahead of Wang and behind Silva have either already had their shot at the title (Manon Fiorot, Alexa Grasso, Zhang Weili) or are sidelined and unavailable for the date (Erin Blanchfield).

For casual fans, Shevchenko-Silva was a weak main event on paper. Wang-Silva for an interim title reads even weaker to the average fan. The hardcores will still have some interest because the matchup still represents highly skilled, top-of-the-line mixed martial artists.